Staff Reporter :
The price of rice is still high in the markets because the rice mill owners have not yet implemented the government’s direction, traders alleged.
The government has fixed the rice price as under. The fine quality of Miniket rice is to be sold at Tk. 2575 a sach of 50 kg and the medium quality at the 2250 only on Tuesday.
The wholesalers said that Miniket rice was selling at Tk 2,650 to Tk 2,800 per 50 kg sack at mills gate while the medium quality rice at Tk 2300-2350 on Wednesday.
They also alleged that the millers have created an artificial crisis blaming shortage of paddy, although the millers have stockpiles of paddy for at least a one and a half month.
Under the circumstance, the wholesalers suggested the government to take initiative to import rice to stabilize the market and to break the millers’ syndicate.
If the government takes initiative to import rice, all the excuses of the mill owners including the rice crisis will be stopped, they added.
Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder on Tuesday fixed the prices after sitting with the millers and traders at the Khadya Bhaban.
He said import of fine quality rice will begin if the businesses do not sell the grain at the fixed prices.
The food minister had initially told the mill owners to sell rice throughout October at prices they had been charging 15 days ago following objection by the traders.
He later met a group of traders again and set the new prices.
The traders said they had bought Miniket rice from the mills at Tk 2,555 per sack 15 days ago.
Prices of almost all rice varieties increased by up to Tk three per kg in Dhaka in a space of 20 days amid floods and the coronavirus pandemic in the last week of August.
Retailers at Karwan Bazar were selling Paijam variety of rice at Tk 47 per kg, Miniket Tk 51 and BR-28 Tk 44 a kg last Friday, all up by Tk two per kg from the previous week’s prices.
